Thornclaw and Sunstrike: Two Lovers
by Go Cats 27
Summary: Thornclaw of ThunderClan and Sunstrike of WindClan are destined to be together, but there relationship is plagued by death, life and the stars...
1. First meeting

_Hi everyone! I always thought Thornclaw needed to have a mate, and there's no one in ThunderClan for him. So I decided to write this, I love forbidden romance, so I thought I'd have a crack at it. This is my version of Thornclaw and Sunstrike, two lovers._

_**Please review!**_

The tortoiseshell queen lifted her head and breathed in the fresh, heather-scented breeze of the moor. The large white mark on her head gave her her name. Sunstrike, and right now, relaxed and happy, she felt as radiant as the sun. She looked around, her keen green eyes looking for any sign of a meal. Then, she saw one. It was a young rabbit, sniffing around for something to eat.

Interested now, she crept forward, determined not to let a rabbit escape her. Realising her chance she leapt forward and began to run as fast as her paws would carry her toward the helpless rabbit. The rabbit looked up and froze at the sight of her, then adrenaline kicked it into life, and it raced forward.

More than prepared for the chase, she merely sped up. She loved this feeling, her long legs eating up the ground, the wind ruffling her fur, and the pure thrill of the chase. Lunging forward she caught the rabbit, and delivered a swift death bite to the neck. She stood up with the rabbit clamped in her jaws. She was proud of this rabbit; it was a nice and plump one and would feed all the elders.

She was near the border of ThunderClan territory and just as she was about to head back to camp, a voice from the bushes startled her. "Good catch." It said. She spun around, and dropped her rabbit. Preparing to snap at the cat she was sure was from ThunderClan to stay away and get out of her fur, she stopped dead when a handsome golden tabby tomcat with warm amber eyes stepped out of the trees.

Sunstrike's insides turned to mush as they met eyes and her heart raced. Blood roared in her ears and her mouth opened as she tried to say something, anything, but nothing came out. The tom spoke for her. "What's your name?" He asked casually. Finally finding her voice, she managed to mew "S-Sunstrike." He eyed her and then meowed "Hello Sunstrike, I'm Thornclaw."

Somehow managing to be aggressive, she meowed "What are you doing? Get out of WindClan territory!" Her voice shook so much she doubted it was a threat. Thornclaw purred, amused, "I am not on WindClan territory, I am simply congratulating you on you catch." Sunstrike couldn't help it, she purred. "In that case, sorry." Thornclaw laughed gently, his laugh was music to Sunstrike's ears. " Apology excepted."

Then Thornclaw threw a lazy glance in her direction before stretching out in the setting sun, his golden fur gleamed and his amber eyes glinted, Sunstrike felt some unknown emotion spread through her as she watched the tom, and her heart lurched, but before she could say anything, the gold tabby tom sat up and mewed "Well, I guess I'll see you around Sunstrike." Then he disappeared into the bushes of ThunderClan's territory and he was gone as quick the bushes of ThunderClan's territory and he was gone as quickly as he had come.

Sunstrike blinked and then carried the rabbit back to camp. When she got there her friend, Swallowtail, greeted her. "Hey Sunstrike." The gray she-cat mewed then glanced at her rabbit. "Great catch." She said. "Thanks." Sunstrike mumbled through a mouthful of rabbit, she dumped the thing on the fresh-kill pile then padded after Swallowtail. Swallowtail looked at her quizzically. "You look all…moony." She finally meowed. Sunstrike choked out "I look what?" "Like Leaftail when he's looking at you." Swallowtail replied. "Leaftail?" Sunstrike gasped, "Since when has he liked me?"

"Since last moon!" Swallowtail exclaimed, "Haven't you noticed the way he looks at you and follows you around?" Sunstrike admitted she hadn't. She liked the dark tabby tom; he was a bit full of him self, but then again nothing compared to Breezepelt. _Breezepelt! _She thought angrily, she hated the black tom, he was so arrogant and stuck-up, his father, Crowfeather, was just as worse.

Shaking the thought from her head she looked back at Swallowtail. "I met this tom on the ThunderClan border today…" But just as she was about to reveal everything to her friend she stopped._ No._ She thought. I'll keep it a secret, _I don't want to tell Swallowtail I was mooning over a ThunderClan cat._ That was an eye opener; she _had_ been mooning over him. Swallowtail was interested. "What happened?" She asked. Trying to make up a convincing lie Sunstrike mewed. "I told him to go away." That wasn't exactly a lie… but she hadn't really scared him at all with her half-hearted threat.

Swallowtail was now bored. "Let's go do something," she said. But just as they were in the clearing the dusk patrol came in and with it came Antpelt. Swallowtail immediately started talking to and following the brown tom. Sunstrike purred. _If you want moony, than that's moony. _She thought. But then she realised something. She did feel something for Thornclaw, something _big_… 

_**I know that's nothing like Thornclaw, but I figured he'd act differently when he was in love. He'll be back to his old self in the next chapter don't fret. Oh and, please review!**_


	2. The Gathering

Hi I'm back! Please review! Oh and I re-wrote the first chapter, as it was originally rubbish. Sorry this is so short!

The group of cats waited impatiently for their leader to emerge, some of them gossiped quietly, whilst others paced around, eager to get going. Onestar finally emerged from his den, and then yowled for his warriors to follow him. Sunstrike was one of the cats chosen to go to the gathering, and she had never been so excited to go to one. It had been a quarter moon since the encounter with Thornclaw and she couldn't get him out of her mind. The only time she'd seen him was on a dawn patrol. They had spent a few seconds just looking at each other, before being ushered back to their patrols. Now, she desperately hoped Thornclaw was at the gathering.

WindClan reached the island second, beaten only by RiverClan. Cats mulled around, greeting each other, but there was only one cat Sunstrike was looking for. Finally, ThunderClan arrived, and to her relief, Thornclaw was with them. Was it her imagination or did she see the golden tom's amber eyes light up when he saw her?

Now they were just waiting on ShadowClan. Thornclaw approached her and mewed "Hey Sunstrike." "Hey." Sunstrike purred back. Then Thornclaw became serious. "Can we go somewhere a bit more private? We need to talk." Sunstrike nodded, her heart fluttering. Thornclaw led them into a secluded area surrounded by bushes. "Sunstrike I'm hopeless!" He exclaimed. "Ever since I met you you've been stuck on my mind; it's terrible." Sunstrike spilled over. "I'm the same!" She gasped.

They looked at each other for a moment, then Thornclaw meowed gently "Perhaps we should meet up then." "The warrior code!" Sunstrike mewed, horrified. The warrior code forbade cats from different clans meeting up or being mates. But then Sunstrike realised something she was in love. Her heart told her what to do and she couldn't ignore it. "Damn _it._" Thornclaw muttered, scraping his long, angled claws along the sandy ground. "Sunstrike, I don't care about the warrior code, I _love_ you and I want to be with you." Sunstrike opened her mouth to reply, and then closed it. She was lost in a daze of thoughts. He _loved _her. But then when she finally did speak, the only words that came out were

"Where should we meet?"

Thornclaw didn't miss a beat he purred "On the border, near the moonpool. At dawn." Sunstrike nodded numbly, then turned to go, but before she could Thornclaw gently nuzzled her on the flank. They slipped out of the bushes, just as the gathering started. Sunstrike was shocked to hear that there had been a battle between ShadowClan and ThunderClan. Russetfur, the ShadowClan deputy had been killed. She snuck a look at ThornClaw, and saw a fresh scar along his flank that she hadn't noticed before.

All of the clans were getting slimmer, she realised, as leaf bare set in, but other than that all the clans looked content and happy. The gathering ended and the cats headed back to their own territories. Sunstrike walked back next to Swallowtail and Antpelt, who had become very close lately. She felt almost jealous of her friend; she hadn't fallen in love with a cat from another clan, but she was happy for her all the same.

That night she tossed and turned in the warrior's den, worried sick. Would StarClan be angry? What would happen if any cat found out? She only got a few moments sleep before it was dawn. She had purposely chosen a nest at the edge of the den, not wanting to wake any cat. She managed to get out of the den without any cat noticing, and get out of the camp without Emberfoot, who was on watch noticing. Racked by guilt, she headed out of the camp to see Thornclaw.


	3. Secrets, sunset and Swallowtail's kits

It that time in Australia, only two months till scorching sun and relentless 40 degree Celsius plus days (AKA summer). Enjoy this chapter, and, as always, please review!

Sunstrike didn't quite know what she was doing.

She walked over the moorland, her paws heavy and her heart sinking. By this simple action, meeting Thornclaw, she was disobeying every thing she had been taught, the warrior code and her instincts. It was all so wrong yet it was so right. She loved Thornclaw, that was a fact she couldn't avoid, but they were from different clans. _Why do we have to be in different clans? Why? Why? Why? _She thought furiously to herself. She somehow managed to keep her thoughts under control as she reached the moonpool. There, waiting for her, his golden pelt glistening in the rising sun, was Thornclaw.

She sped up, feeling light as air, her paws barely skimming the ground. She collided into Thornclaw in an undignified crash but neither of them cared. She pushed against him purring like mad and he returned the affection. "Sunstrike," He whispered simply, his voice quite but meaningful; "Thornclaw," she whispered back. "How are you?" He asked, sitting down and carelessly washing himself. 'Good," She mewed, then yawned, "But tired." She added. "Going to the gathering and then getting up to sneak away at dawn isn't the best." Thornclaw laughed, and then yawned. "I agree!" he meowed.

"Perhaps we should choose a better time to meet, that way we're both not complete wrecks." Thornclaw suggested. It was a simple question, but for some reason it meant a lot to Sunstrike. "Keep meeting…" She whispered. Some horrible feeling lurched inside her as she realised the level of disloyalty she had gotten herself into. But for some reason she ignored it. "Yes," she whispered, "Another time of day would be good." "Great!" Thornclaw meowed. "How about sunset?" Sunstrike paused then mewed "Yes."

"I have to go now," Thornclaw meowed, "But I'll see you here tomorrow at sunset." "Goodbye." Sunstrike whispered, "See you tomorrow." She pressed her pelt against his. "Bye." Sunstrike murmured. Thornclaw turned around and disappeared into the bushes on ThunderClan's side of the border. Sunstrike turned around and noticed that the sun had risen. She cringed; her clanmates were probably wondering where she was. She started to head back to camp.

When she got there, Ashfoot, the clan deputy, greeted her. "Sunstrike there you are." Ashfoot meowed, "I want you to join a hunting patrol." _Oh great, after barely getting any sleep last night, getting up at dawn and going to the gathering, I get to chase rabbits all day. _She thought to herself. _Life's just not fair sometimes. _Shaking her head, she headed off with the hunting patrol.

After a tiring, tiring day, Sunstrike just managed to drag herself back to camp. _I'm never doing that again. _She thought to herself, _never. _But her bad mood was spoiled by the appearance of Swallowtail. "Sunstrike, Sunstrike!" The dark gray she-cat mewed, excited. "Guess what!" Sunstrike somehow managed to gather enough energy to purr. "What?" She meowed. "I'm expecting Antpelt's kits!"

"Great!" Sunstrike mewed, happy for her friend. "I'm happy for both of you, Antpelt will make a great father, too." "Thank you." Swallowtail meowed "Thank you very much." All of a sudden Antpelt burst into the camp and practically collided with Swallowtail "Emberfoot just congratulated me on being a father," He meowed, "Is it true?" Swallowtail ducked her head, embarrassed "Yes." She meowed "It's true." "Great!" Antpelt mewed. He then pressed himself against Swallowtail and purred.

Leaving the two cats, Sunstrike headed over too the fresh-kill pile, where she was greeted by Leaftail. "Hey, um… do you want to share this with me?" He mewed nervously, gesturing to a rabbit at his paws. Sunstrike blinked her tired eyes at him "Sure." She mewed. Then she noticed how Leaftail was looking at her, and what Swallowtail had said. _He does like me. _She realised with sickening realisation. _Oh StarClan, can't you make my life a bit easier, please?_


	4. Breaking up

I don't own warriors. This is the next chapter… and right now I'm deprived of anything else to put in this note. Just read the thing please and please review.

Sunstrike ran. She ran for more reasons than one. She didn't just run to catch the rabbit in front of her because the clan was short of food, or with concern for her friend, Swallowtail, who was going to be giving birth in freezing leaf-bare, she ran because she wished she could just run away from her life. Her life, which was based on lies and breaking the warrior code. Her life, which involved her being constantly dishonest and always feeling guilty. Her life, which was one big secret.

But the moments with Thornclaw… the few, lost, stolen moments were so perfect. She shook her head to clear the thoughts and raced after the rabbit, when she caught up with it she pounced and killed it with a swift bite to the neck. "Hey, great catch!" Leaftail mewed, appearing beside her. "Thanks." Is all Sunstrike could say with a dead rabbit in her mouth. She was meeting Thornclaw at sunset, or at least what was suppose to be sunset, as there was no longer any sun to disappear behind the eternal blanket of clouds that constantly filled the sky with their menacing shadows.

She lugged the rabbit back to camp, trying to ignore the pain in her shoulder where Breezepelt had knocked her over during battle training yesterday. She dumped the rabbit at the nursery entrance, where Swallowtail could find it easily, and then slipped out of camp unnoticed, She was just waiting for the day when some cat would find her out, but thankfully, everyone was more focussed on keeping the clan alive to notice her leave the camp.

She trotted to the moonpool, ignoring her shoulders screams of protest, and when she got there, Thornclaw was waiting for her. She usually would have flung herself at him, her eyes and face would usually light up, all of her worries would usually be lost in the few seconds of complete exhilaration she felt when she first saw him after a day, but for some reason all of her emotion and joy was held at bay as she calmly sat herself down across from him.

Thornclaw detected this unhappiness, this uncertainty as he lowered his gaze to match hers. Sunstrike wanted to start with a joke, something positive but the only words that she could manage were fateful and dark.

"I can't do this anymore Thornclaw."

He didn't argue, he didn't protest, he merely gave her a curt nod, a signal to carry on. Sunstrike sprung to her feet and began to pace, "I just can't carry on being so disloyal, so dishonest, I can't continue letting my clanmates down. I can't continue sneaking away every night, disobeying my morals and the warrior code, I can't continue doing this. I just can't." there were no more words. They just sat there looking at each other, lost in the gloomy silence. And then Thornclaw mewed. "I love you."

Sunstrike stared at Thornclaw for a second, and then she meowed back. "I love you too." And then she left, went, was gone forever, she headed back to camp, her heart heavy and her mind numb. But she knew it was for the best, it was the only way.

When she got back to camp, she squeezed into the nursery to be with Swallowtail. Her friend was huge now, her bloated stomach as round as a holly berry. Sunstrike's feelings were churning up inside her, the significant ones being regret, guilt and a deep, horrible sadness. But there was also a strange sense of relief, as she no longer had to face the degree of disloyalty and betrayal she had inflicted upon herself.

However, despite all of this, being with her life long friend always made her forget these feelings and fell better. "Did you get the rabbit?" Sunstrike asked "Yeah." Her friend replied then added cheerfully "It can't belong before they're born, and I can't wait!" despite the fact that Sunstrike felt miserable and felt that she had broken the valuable friendship with the only true friend she had ever had, she still managed to purr for her friend. "Neither can I." Swallowtail and Sunstrike talked for a few more moments before Antpelt emerged with Kestrelflight at his heels. Kestrelflight had a bundle of strong-smelling leaves in his mouth. Sunstrike felt that she was no longer needed and murmured a curt goodbye to Swallowtail, Antpelt and Kestrelflight before slipping out of the nursery and climbing into her warm, comfortable nest.

That night she tossed and turned, thinking about what she had done, Thornclaw had been her best friend, her lover, the one she could confide in, he had always been there for her, the only thing that came between them was the warrior code. _I was stupid to end it._ Sunstrike thought _stupid, stupid, stupid_.

But the damage was done, and could never be repaired.


	5. When it all falls apart

Hi dear people who have managed to put up with this story until now! I assure you it gets better and there are MAJOR twists… (You may have predicted one of them but surely not the other one that is coming soon! Mwah, ha, ha, ha, Mwuah, ha, ha, ha! (Chap.7))

Sunstrike paced vigorously, her unsheathed claws tearing up the sand and the light covering of moss outside the WindClan camp nursery. _It'll be all right, Swallowtail will be fine, her kits will be beautiful, and she will NOT die. _Sunstrike tried to comfort herself, but she knew they were empty words. It seemed that her life had reached an ultimate low.

Thornclaw, her lover and her mate who she had been meeting in secret for a moon was no longer with her. _And who's fault was that? _Sunstrike thought menacingly to herself. After all, she had been the one to break up with Thornclaw, not the other way around. But then after a half moon of morning over lost life and unbearable snowstorms Swallowtail had started kitting. At first everything had gone all right, but then everything had started to go wrong, horribly wrong. Another agonised wail echoing from the nursery just confirmed Sunstrike's worst fear.

Sunstrike looked around the WindClan camp, she saw Sedgewhisker, Swallowtail's sister peering through the entrance to the warriors' den, her eyes shining with pain. Antpelt, Swallowtail's mate, was in the nursery with her, Sunstrike had tried to get in to be with her best friend but had been thrown out by Kestrelflight. "Sunstrike, come back and stop pacing like that, you'll give your self frostbite and that's the last thing WindClan needs." Sunstrike recognised the voice immediately, it belonged to her good friend and former mentor, Emberfoot. For some reason it reassured her, and she clambered back into the scoop of earth where the warriors' slept.

Sunstrike curled up with her tail over her eyes trying to block out the terrible scene and was drifting off when she was awoken by Leaftail. "You okay?" He asked. Sunstrike nodded numbly. "It'll be okay." But his words were empty and before almost no meaning as Sunstrike knew nothing would ever be the same again. Sunstrike could not sleep that night, she spent a long, cold, and uncomfortable night listening to Swallowtail's moans of pain and Leaftail's snoring. But judging by the constant twitching and murmuring of her clanmates, she wasn't the only one.

It was about dawn when the inevitable happened; there was horrible yowl from within the nursery and Antpelt staggered out his face twisted in a horrible expression of grief. "Swallowtail?" She demanded loudly. Antpelt just gasped "Gone." Sunstrike ran past him to the nursery but Kestrelflight blocked her. "You don't want to see what's in there." He mewed. Sunstrike gasped and staggered backwards. Then it sank in. Swallowtail was dead. _Dead._

All around the camp cats were starting to stir stumbling out of their dens and rushing to comfort Antpelt. Onestar emerged, and bowed his head in grief. Sunstrike all of a sudden felt like she couldn't breath, her breath was coming in short, sharp gasps, and there was no air. _I have to get out of here. _She thought desperately. She pushed her ways through the clan and bounded out the entrance, she stopped dead as soon as she was out of camp, and inhaled several deep breaths of cold air. When she was sure that she wasn't going to black out, she sat down and stayed there. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but for some reason it helped. Sunstrike then headed back to camp, knowing that she had to face everything that was going on.

She entered almost afraid of what she was going to see. Instead of being everywhere cats now sat around in small groups, speaking in hushed whispers. Swallowtail's body had been dragged into the centre of camp, where Antpelt was already sitting vigil. Ashfoot, the deputy, was quietly calling together patrols.

She headed to Kestrelflight's den, as she wanted to know how and why her friend had died. "Hello Sunstrike." She heard the medicine cat meow. She didn't bother with greetings, as she was to upset for that, instead she just mewed. "How did she die, Kestrelflight?" "She lost a lot of blood, she was exhausted." "Oh." She then noticed the medicine cat front paws were dirty. "Where have you been?" Kestrelflight met her gaze. "Burying the dead kits." Sunstrike gasped in horror. "The kits are dead?" Kestrelflight nodded.

There was an awkward silence, and then Kestrelflight mewed "Hopefully your kitting doesn't go the same way. Sunstrike didn't believe it "_My _kitting?" Kestrelflight looked at her like she was stupid "Of course your kitting! Don't tell me you haven't noticed! Is Leaftail the father?" But Sunstrike was in too much shock to answer. "I'm expecting kits?" Kestrelflight nodded. But then Sunstrike thought of something else, something that made her shudder. She knew instantly who's these kits were, they were not Leaftail's, no, they were Thornclaw's.

Did you like it? Please review! And by the way, I don't own warriors.


	6. My kits and their fathers

_**Hi everyone!**_

_**I'm so thrilled that people like this story so much! I'm in a bit of writing craze at the moment =) so I'll take advantage of that and write as much as I can. As always enjoy and please review. The reason I have not updated in ages is that I have just started high school and the amount of homework they are giving us is against the Geneva Convention, I'm sure.**_

Sunstrike watched as her two kits played with a piece of sheep-pelt. It fluttered over the tortoiseshell kit's head and she let out an excited squeal and toppled over backwards trying vainly with her tiny claws to catch it. Sunstrike purred at Spottedkit's antics and then realised that it was nearly sunset and she better take her kits into the nursery. "Come on you two, it's time to come in." Sunstrike called gently. "But…" Spottedkit began but Sunstrike herded both the kits inside the warm nursery and meowed to them "You're only a half moon old and that's only your second time outside." But when Sunstrike saw the kit's expression she gave in.

"Fine." She mewed. "I'll bring the sheep-pelt in and you can play in here, but it's too cold to go outside." The kits' purred and Sunstrike went outside and grabbed the sheep-pelt and bought back inside to the kits, which immediately resumed their game. At that moment, Leaftail came in through the nursery entrance, Gorsekit and Spottedkit hurled themselves at Leaftail, who crash-landed on the soft moss and gasped, "I've been killed!" before going limp. Gorsekit and Spottedkit let out squeals of delight before quickly losing interest. Leaftail shook out his long tabby fur and mewed quietly to Sunstrike. "You know sometimes I wish they were mine." A rush of guilt spread over Sunstrike as she remembered the conversation she had had with Leaftail…

Sunstrike had stumbled out of the medicine den, dazed and confused, as the news sank in. She was expecting kits in the middle of leaf-bare, with a cat from another clan when the tensions were running high, no cat could know who the father was, although a queen didn't have to say who the father of her kits was, cats grew suspicious and wanted to know anyway, and if they found out, it could all end in disaster.

However, Sunstrike knew that there was one cat she could trust to keep her secret, one cat that would always stay loyal to her, no matter what. Leaftail. She had padded over to the warriors den where she new Leaftail would still be. He was indeed there, staring out at the clearing, deadpan. "Leaftail?" Sunstrike had asked in a small voice. "Leaftail can we go somewhere else? I need to talk to you." He had turned to her, his face curious but also grieving and had mewed. "Sure." So they had quietly left the camp and headed to a quite spot beside on the cliffs surrounding the lakes.

A minute of awkward silence, then Sunstrike spoke in a barely audible whisper "I'm expecting kits Leaftail." The silence was deafening, neither cat spoke. "They're not mine, I take it." Leaftail had said coldly. "No." Is all Sunstrike could say shocked by his briskness. "I-I can't tell you who the real father is." Is all she could say without breaking down "I know what you're asking. I'll leave you alone from now on." He had meowed before getting up to leave. "No!" Sunstrike gasped, "I wasn't going to say that Leaftail and you know it. You're my best friend." She spoke the truth. Leaftail turned towards her. "You really mean that?" He gasped. "You know I do." Is all she said "No… the reason I wanted to talk to you is simple, I want you to be their father."

S it was that half a moon later she gave birth to two beautiful kits. Leaftail was more than happy to act as the happy parent and no cat doubted he was their father. It worked perfectly.

It was one bitterly cold, snowy day. The light dusting of the stuff on the ground gave her now moon-old kits endless entertainment, and the clan endless annoyance. Sunstrike was out in the clearing with her kits, lapping up the weak winter rays. When all of a sudden there was a yowl and she sat bolt upright. The scent of ThunderClan hit her and she immediately noticed one familiar scent. Thornclaw.

Two cats entered, Thornclaw and Firestar. From the moment he entered the camp Thornclaw's eyes were on her and no one else. He saw her, surrounded by her two kits, one Tortoiseshell and one golden brown tabby and he gasper in shock. He stared at her and she gave him a quick, brisk nod. Something that no other cat noticed. He turned his head, shocked. Onestar emerged from his den. "What do you want this time Firestar?" He growled. His aggressiveness was fitting, two ThunderClan warriors had been found stealing prey the previous day.

The leaders began talking in hush voices, and before long, Onestar's eyes were wide and his claws were sunk into the ground. "Thank you, thank you Firestar." Is all he mewed than he quietly called for Weaselfur and Harespring. "Please escort these ThunderClan cats back to the border. The two young cats bowed their heads and quickly left. Then Onestar leaped on top of the abandoned badger set he used as a speaking point. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here!" He yowled.

Once every cat was gathered he said simply. "I have some bad news…"

The new book doesn't come out in Australia for ages so I checked out Sunstrike on warrior's wiki and she's training with the dark forest! Thank God my mothers made me enable the 'profanity filter' or every single swear, cuss or negative adjective I new would be in this author's note. Evil, evil, evil Erin Hunter. I spend six freaking chapters turning this unknown character into an incredibly complex character and she ruins it all! !

On a more cheerful note, please review and I don't own warriors.

P.S in my random googling I found out Sunstrike is a racehorse who is the daughter of legendary horse Sunline, one of the best race-mares/ horses of her time ('her time' included the awesome Makybe Diva and Northerly).


	7. A night of no stars

_There was little wind that night. When an occasional gust did come along it rattled the trees on ThunderClan's border, stirring them. They creaked and howled, moaned and groaned. What little moon there was just peaked out from the blanket of clouds, doing nothing to illuminate the dark, foreboding moors. If a human was to look upon that scene, they would not notice the hundreds of cats, as there eyes would be immediately drawn to the sky._

_There were no stars that night._

If you were to look at the hundred or so cats your eyes probably wouldn't fall on the inconspicuous tortoiseshell she-cat with a large white mark on her head. But she was there, oh yes she was there.

The creaking of the trees and the harsh, rare silence that swept over the waiting clans would usually scare Sunstrike, but tonight her mind was on other things. To be perfectly honest with herself, she had to admit that she didn't expect to survive the night. She was a small she-cat, vulnerable and not at her full fitness from just having kits, her fighting skills were okay. Not great. And so as Sunstrike stood there with the legions of other clans in her head were the regrets of her life, and the legacy she was to leave behind if she didn't live to see the next day. Her kits barley two moons old, slept in the nursery, guarded by battle-weary elders and just-apprenticed 7 moon old kits.

She remembered last moon, when Onestar had addressed the clan, telling them the truth, which was the place of no stars was going to attack the clans and StarClan, to wreck their terrible revenge. But for what entirely? Nothing. Yet it was the evil, malicious natures of these cats that even StarClan wouldn't except that made them angry. They hated every thing from the bottom of there hearts, if they had any. These were the cats that had broken the warrior code so many times it almost lay tattered at their feet.

Sunstrike was no angel. She had broken the warrior code to; she had fallen in love with Thornclaw, a cat from another clan and bore his kits. She had also broken his heart, which she felt lay tattered at her feet. The kits that slept in the WindClan nursery right now were his. However WindClan thought they were her friends Leaftail's. He was posing as the father. And so, if she were to die this very night, on a barren and lifeless moor, stripped of al life by the relentless leaf-bare they had had would she go to StarClan? Or would she be bound for a much eviler, darker place? She didn't know.

Beside and behind her were leagues of battle hardened warriors, preparing they fight for what they believed in. But not everybody who should be there was. Roughly a third of all the clans has defected, left to join the dark forest, she remembered the horror of when her best friend's mate Antpelt had joined them to. She remembered. I wonder if Swallowtail will fight beside us tonight? Sunstrike thought to herself.

Around her, there were a few whispers, Sunstrike let her mind wonder to her kits. She remembered the look on Thornclaw's face when he had seen her with her kits, so many conflicting emotions. So much hurt. She couldn't see Thornclaw in the rows of cats, and she hadn't seen him at the border, the previous moon had been devoted to battle training, and practising fighting skills. A wave of emotion spread over her. She didn't want him to perish on this awful night. As for Leaftail? He stood beside her. Staring straight ahead, lost in thought.

Just then a mournful caterwauling sound pierced the air. Sunstrike's head snapped up, as did Leaftail's. Warriors, both deceased and alive stood at the top of the hill; some of them had ghostly grey outlines, the lifeless ones. But then all of a sudden spirits weaved there way through the clan cats; familiar scents and comforting words surrounded them. And then it happened, Leaftail turned to Sunstrike and mewed "Sunstrike if we both die tonight, then I want you to no something, I love you extraordinarily much and always will." Sunstrike stared in astonishment but some how managed to meow "I love you to."

And then it began.

**Love it? Hate it? Review it? I don't mind flames, but I prefer constructive criticism, thanks.**


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